Electronic documentation integration and viewing system

ABSTRACT

A Document Integration and Viewing System (DIVS) can perform a method that comprises accessing a plurality of electronic documents, assigning each of the electronic documents to an appropriate category of a plurality of user-specified document categories, establishing a sequence for the electronic documents in each of the user-specified document categories, and generating a graphical user interface that includes a plurality of panes. Each of the user-specified document categories is assigned to a different pane of the plurality of panes so that each of the electronic documents is assigned to a corresponding one of the panes. Within each pane, all of the electronic documents assigned to the pane are viewable sequentially in response to user inputs according to the sequence determined for the electronic documents of the corresponding category, with seamless visual transitions between contents of the electronic documents assigned to each pane.

This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional patentapplication No. 62/162,047, filed on May 15, 2015, which is incorporatedby reference herein in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

At least one embodiment of the present invention pertains tointegration, management and viewing of electronic documents.

BACKGROUND

Certain businesses and professions have traditionally relied uponphysical file folders to hold physical (paper) documents that arereceived and created in the course of doing business. For example,attorneys have traditionally used bi-fold and tri-fold folders to holddocuments for each particular matter. These folders allow differenttypes of documents for a given matter to be organized in a logical waywithin the same physical file. For example, documents representingcommunications (e.g., letters and emails) between an attorney and aclient and/or service providers may be attached to the inside of oneflap of a tri-fold folder, while communications with a government agencymay be clipped to the inside of another flap of the same tri-foldfolder, and while the attorney's notes and/or other supporting documentsare clipped to the inside of a third flap of the tri-fold folder. Stillother documents may be held loosely in one or more pockets within thefolder. Commonly, at least some of these documents are attached insidethe file folder in a particular sequence, such as in the chronologicalorder in which they were created or received, and this may be true foreach of one or more different sections (e.g., flaps) within the folder.

Computers, along with decreasing costs of data storage technology, havemade physical file folders redundant in many respects, for at least somebusiness and professions. Indeed, the business world has been steadilygravitating toward a “paperless” system, in which all documents aremaintained only in electronic form. A paperless business has manybenefits, including being environmentally friendly and reducing costsassociated with purchasing paper and storage space for physical files.Many businesses use a computer-implemented document management system(DMS) to store files electronically. A DMS makes it easy to storeessentially all documents created or received for a given matter in anelectronic folder dedicated for that matter. Essentially any number ofsubfolders can be created within a given matter folder, to help organizedocuments. Further, a DMS may facilitate searching of folders and filesby keyword and/or predefined fields and may provide for automatic backupof data.

However, a physical file system may still have some advantages overtoday's electronic file system. For example, with a completely paperlessfile system it can be difficult for a person to acquire and maintain asolid understanding of the matter as a whole or its context,particularly if the person has not worked on the matter from itsinception. Typically each document is stored as a separate electronicfile. The internal contents of any particular page within any particularelectronic document in a DMS (or other electronic file system) are notrandomly or instantly viewable as they are in a physical file folder. Aperson cannot rapidly flip through arbitrarily sized chunks of pagesthat span multiple documents, as they can with a physical file.Typically each individual electronic document is opened and viewed andthen scrolled or paged to the location(s) or interest with thosedocuments. This process can prove unwieldy, especially for matters thatinclude a large number of documents, where users may need to switch backand forth between several different documents displayed in differentwindows on a computer screen. A user can easily miss or overlookimportant information because of the electronic file system'slimitations in the way the information is organized and viewable by theuser. Additionally, while a DMS or conventional operating system's filemanager can list all stored files, organized hierarchically by foldersand subfolders, for example, and sorted by any of various criteria(e.g., name, creation date or last modified, file type, etc.), thecontents or relevance of those documents may not be apparent to the userfrom that listing.

These and other limitations of electronic document storage systems canhinder a person's ability to obtain or maintain an understanding of acomplex matter that has numerous documents of different types andpurposes, and may cause a user to overlook important information.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

One or more embodiments of the present invention are illustrated by wayof example and not limitation in the figures of the accompanyingdrawings, in which like references indicate similar elements.

FIG. 1 illustrates schematically an example of the functionality of anelectronic Document Integration and Viewing System (DIVS).

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a GUI that the DIVS can generate.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the elements of theDIVS.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of a process that canbe performed by the DIVS.

FIG. 5 is a high-level block diagram of an example of a hardwarearchitecture of a processing system in which the DIVS can beimplemented.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In this description, references to “an embodiment”, “one embodiment” orthe like, mean that the particular feature, function, structure orcharacteristic being described is included in at least one embodiment ofthe technique introduced here. Occurrences of such phrases in thisspecification do not necessarily all refer to the same embodiment. Onthe other hand, the embodiments referred to also are not necessarilymutually exclusive.

Referring to FIG. 1, introduced here is a Document Integration andViewing System (DIVS) 1 that can automatically integrate multipleelectronic documents 2 of different file types and purposes but relatingto the same matter, and then make the contents of those documents 2viewable in a manner that emulates a traditional multi-fold physicalfile both in appearance and in how a user can interact with thedocuments. The DIVS 1 thereby makes it easier for a person to view andassimilate all of the documents associated with a matter and to locatequickly and easily the most relevant documents and content, as if theywere present within a well-organized physical file folder.

In FIG. 1, the different fill patterns in the objects representing theelectronic documents 2 represent different file types and/or formats.The multiple electronic documents 2 for a given matter may be obtainedfrom one or more different content sources or storage facilities 3(e.g., various memory locations, disk drives, remote computers). Themultiple electronic documents 2 for a given matter can also be ofvarious different file types and/or formats, such as emails (e.g., inOutlook.otf format or .msg format), word processing documents (e.g., inMicrosoft Word .doc or .rtf format), PDF (.pdf) documents, drawings(e.g., in Microsoft Visio.vsd or PowerPoint.pptx format), web pagesin.html format, images (e.g., in .jpg format), videos, etc.

In response to user inputs, the DIVS 1 creates an electronic file folder(a logical data container) for a given matter and assigns multipleelectronic documents 2 relating to that matter to separate viewing panes4 of an application window 5 for the matter, in a graphical userinterface (GUI). The term “application window” in this context means aGUI window generated by the DIVS 1 in a manner consistent with thewindows paradigm, but does not imply that the DIVS 1 must beapplication-level software, although it may be.

Each viewing pane 4 represents a different user-specified documentcategory, such as “Client Communications,” “Notes and BackgroundMaterials, “Official Government Documents,” etc. To emulate the way thedocuments would be attached in a physical file folder, the DIVS 1establishes a sequence for the documents in each category/pane,automatically or based on user input (or a combination thereof), anddisplays the documents in their assigned panes 4 in a logically stackedmanner within each pane 4 according to the established sequence. Oncethe electronic documents 2 have been input to and processed by the DIVS1, the DIVS 1 enables the user to scroll or page through the “stacked”documents in each pane 4 sequentially and seamlessly (i.e., withouthaving to expressly open or select the documents/files individually).That is, the electronic file boundaries between the documents becomeessentially transparent to the user. The documents within each pane 4are scrollable as if they were a single multi-page document.

In response to a user's request to open an electronic file folder for agiven matter, the DIVS 1 will automatically load some or all of thedocuments from long-term storage into working memory. For example, thefirst few documents in the sequence for each pane may be prefetched andloaded, while subsequent documents in the sequence may be fetched andloaded in response to the user's scrolling inputs.

Hence, the DIVS 1 provides a GUI that visually emulates a multi-foldphysical file of the type traditionally used by various businesses andprofessions. As such, the DIVS 1 enables the user to obtain and maintaina better understanding of the overall context of a matter, includingrelationships between documents for that matter, and to more directlyand easily access document contents than if the user had to identify andopen them as separate files.

The multiple documents 2 processed by the DIVS 1 for a given matter canbe of various different file types and/or formats, such as any of thosementioned above. Further, the documents assigned to each particularcategory and pane 4 can be of various different file types and/orformats, such as any of those mentioned above.

For each of the panes 4, the DIVS 1 enables the user to scroll or pagethrough the contents of all of the electronic documents assigned to thatpane seamlessly, i.e., without requiring the user to individually openor identify the electronic documents associated with that pane.

The DIVS 1 can be embodied as, for example, software stored in one ormore memories and/or other storage devices, and executable by one ormore processors, in a conventional computer system. The computer systemcan be, for example, a desktop computer, laptop or notebook computer,tablet computer, smartphone, wearable (e.g., head-mounted) computingdevice, or other type of computing device. Further, the DIVS 1 can beimplemented in a single computing device or in a distributed manneracross two or more computing devices. Further, the DIVS 1 can beimplemented in a client-server architecture (e.g., as a cloud-basedapplication), where the user input and displayed output of the DIVS 1occurs on a client device and the other functionality of the DIVS 1occurs on one or more servers that communicate with the client deviceover a network such as the Internet.

In embodiments where the DIVS 1 is implemented as software, it may beimplemented, for example, as a standalone application, as part of a DMS,or as part of the file system or other component of a computer'soperating system.

In some embodiments, the DIVS 1 converts all of the electronic documentsfor a matter into the same file type or format (e.g., PDF or a new filetype) before making them viewable in the GUI. In other embodiments, atleast some of the documents may be maintained in their native formats.In some embodiments, the DIVS 1 converts the contents of all of theelectronic documents assigned to any given category/pane into a singledocument. In other embodiments, the electronic documents assigned toeach category/pane may be maintained as separate documents. The DIVS 1can organize the individual documents assigned to each pane 4 by using,for example, a linked list or other data structure that relates thedocuments in each pane sequentially, using pointers to link thedocuments in each pane sequentially. The separate documents can be theoriginal electronic documents in their native formats, or new documentscreated from the contents of the original documents, in a single commonformat or multiple different formats. Note, however, that even thoughthe documents in each pane are organized sequentially, the user canrandomly access any document directly (e.g., by selecting a displayedtab, as discussed below), and in at least some embodiments the user candirectly access any given page of any given document by inputting itspage number.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a GUI that the DIVS 1 can generate.Note that the GUI may include additional features not shown or mentionedhere. In the illustrated embodiment, the GUI includes an applicationwindow 5, with which the user can interact using any known or convenientinput technique, such as a mouse pointer controlled by a mouse ortouchpad, touch screen, voice commands, etc. The application windowvisually and functionally emulates the inside of a physical file folderfor a particular matter. As such, the application window 5 includesmultiple panes 4, where each pane 4 is analogous to a different sectionof a physical file folder and represents a different user-defineddocument category. The example of FIG. 2 visually emulates a type ofphysical file folder in which pages are attached to the inside of thefolder at their top margins and can be paged through by flipping themvertically. The panes may include visual effects, such as effects 21 and22 to give the appearance of physical pages through which the user canflip vertically. The application window 5 in FIGS. 1 and 2 includesthree panes 4, however, an application window provided by the DIVS 1 cancontain essentially any number of panes (e.g., as determined by thenumber of user-specified categories defined for a matter or a group ofmatters), although limited display screen area may make large numbers ofpanes/categories undesirable. In some embodiments, the user can selectwhich categories' panes 4 are displayed at any given time.

As mentioned above, each pane 4 is for displaying multiple documents ofone particular category, in a particular sequence (e.g., chronologicalor alphabetical). For example, in an electronic file used by a lawpractice that deals with a government agency, the left pane in FIG. 2might be designated for “Client Communications” while the middle pane isdesignated for “Notes and Background Materials” and the right pane isdesignated for “Official Government Documents.” In some embodiments, thepositions of the panes within the application window 5 can be modifiedby the user (e.g., by dragging and dropping). In some embodiments, oneor more panes of an application window 5 may be split off into one ormore additional application windows like application window 5, in amanner similar to splitting the contents of one physical file into twoor more physical files.

The documents in each pane 4, or at least their contents, are logicallyconnected in a sequence determined by the DIVS 1 (either based on orindependently of user input). In some embodiments and/or viewing modes,each pane 4 displays only one page at a time, as shown in FIG. 2. Inother embodiments and/or viewing modes, two or more pages may bedisplayed at a time in each pane 4. Each pane 4 may include an index ortable of contents of its included documents, for example, as the toppage in each pane, as shown in the middle pane in FIG. 2.

Each individual document represented in each pane 4 may be shown ashaving a tab, such as tab 24 in FIG. 2, which the user can select (e.g.,click on or touch) to directly view the first page of that document. Insome embodiments, the label on each tab is assigned at the time thedocument is input to the DIVS 1, automatically by the DIVS 1 or by userinput, although it can be modified by the user at any time. The GUI alsoenables the user to add labeled tabs to other pages, to allow directviewing of those pages.

Each pane 4 also includes various other GUI user controls. For example,each pane 4 may include a menu bar 25, page up/down buttons 26, documentup/down buttons 27 (to jump to the next or previous document in thepane), rotation controls 28 to rotate documents 90 degree left or right,one or more input fields 29 into which the user can input a page ordocument number to which to jump and/or other commands/data, etc.Additionally, a pane 4 may include a scroll bar 30. The page up/downbuttons 26, document up/down buttons 27 and scroll bar 30 in each panemay be used to seamlessly scroll through all of the pages and documentsin a given pane/category.

In some embodiments or modes of operation, the user may simply click ortap on any pane 4 to cause the document currently displayed in that paneto be expanded to a larger view, e.g., so that the document occupies theentire application window 5 or is displayed in a new, larger applicationwindow.

In the example of FIG. 2, all of the panes 4 for a given file folder(matter) are contained within a single application window 5. In otherembodiments, however, different panes of a given file folder (matter)may be displayed in separate, concurrently displayed applicationwindows.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of the elements of the DIVS 1, accordingto at least some embodiments. In the illustrated example, the DIVS 1includes an optical character recognition (OCR) module 31, a parser 32,a document organizer 33 and a GUI generator 34. The DIVS 1 may providethe ability to search the contents of the file folder by keyword and/orfield name; accordingly, the OCR module 31 can be used to perform OCR oninput electronic documents so as to produce searchable content fromdocuments that are not searchable in their original format.Additionally, OCR can enable or facilitate parsing by the parser 32. Theparser 32 identifies the relevant constituent elements of eachelectronic document input to the DIVS 1, such as its various headers,metadata, elements of content, etc. The GUI generator 34 generates theGUI described above, including the application window 5 and its includedpanes 4 and their included document contents and controls, and alsoreceives and processes user inputs.

The document organizer 33 determines the appropriate pane 4 to whicheach input document is assigned and the sequence of documents withineach pane. The assigned pane and the sequence of documents within eachpane may be determined automatically, i.e., entirely by the documentorganizer 33, or based on user input, or a combination thereof. Forexample, the pane 4 to which a given document is assigned is based onthe category to which the document is assigned; and the category towhich the document is assigned may be determined automatically by theDIVS 1, or based on user input, or a combination of both. The DIVS 1 maybe “intelligent” in that it may determine the category by examining, forexample, the contents, metadata and/or context of the document and/orpast category selections by a user, to determine (or at least suggest tothe user) the most appropriate category for the document. For example,by detecting a particular name in a “To” or “From” header of an email,the document organizer 33 may reasonably determine that the emailbelongs in the pane for “Client Communications” if emails containingthat name in a header have previously been associated with thatcategory/pane. Similarly, by detecting certain text or characters withina document or its filename, and possibly based on past categoryselections by a user, the document organizer 33 may conclude that agiven document belongs in a particular category/pane. Alternatively, oradditionally, the DIVS 1 may prompt the user to specify the category (orconfirm the suggested category) of each document, when the document isadded to the file folder. Note that in some embodiments, a document canbe assigned to multiple categories and therefore may be viewable by theuser independently and concurrently in multiple panes.

With regard to the sequence of documents within a pane, the documentorganizer 33 can determine the sequence (or at least recommend asequence to the user) based on, for example, time/date stamps associatedwith the documents, such as the creation dates of the documents and/orthe dates the documents are added to the file folder for the matter(e.g., the dates they are first input to the DIVS 1). Which type of dateis used for any given pane 4 can be configured as a user preference, andfurther, a hierarchical prioritization of date types can be specifiedfor each pane 4 for the purpose of determining document sequence.Alternatively, or additionally, another criterion or criteria may beused to determine the sequence of documents. Further, the DIVS 1 mayprompt the user to specify the sequential position of each document (orconfirm the recommended position) relative to the other documents in itscategory/pane, when the document is added to the file folder. The GUImay also provide a control that enables the user easily to modify theposition of any document within its assigned pane or to move or copy adocument from one pane to another pane.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a process that can be performed by theDIVS 1. Initially, at step 401, in response to user input the DIVS 1creates a new (electronic) file folder for a particular matter. Inconnection with this step, the DIVS 1 may prompt the user to provide afolder name. Next, at step 402 the DIVS 1 inputs one or more electronicdocuments, selected by the user, to be added to the file folder. Thedocuments may be selected by the user and input to the DIVS 1sequentially or as a batch. The selection of input documents by the usercan be performed using any known or convenient technique for selectingfiles in a computing device. The following steps can then be performedby the DIVS 1 for each input document. The input documents can beprocessed one at a time or such that each step is performed for allinput documents before moving to the next step. In some cases thefollowing steps may be performed at the time each document is createdand initially saved, or they may be performed on documents that werepreviously created and saved, or a combination thereof. Some or all ofthese steps may include displaying to the user one or more dialogwindows or other similar GUI elements, in which the user can accept ormodify values recommended by the DIVS 1 (e.g., for tab labels, documentcategories, sequential location within a pane, etc.).

In certain embodiments, the DIVS 1 then transforms each input documentinto the same file type or format, such as .pdf or a new file type. Inother embodiments, the documents are kept in their native formats. Next,at step 403 the DIVS 1 determines a user-level document category for aninput document. By “user-level” what is meant is a document category ortype that is specified by a person and used by a person to organizedocuments by their contents or purpose (e.g., “Client Communications” or“Notes and background Materials”), which is typically not a file type orformat commonly used by computer file systems to organize files (e.g..doc, .pdf, .vsd). As noted above, the category may be determinedautomatically by the DIVS 1, or based on user input, or a combinationthereof.

Next, at step 404 the DIVS 1 determines a time/date stamp for thedocument. The time/date stamp may be determined automatically by theDIVS 1 (e.g., based on the present date and time when the step isperformed or based on metadata such as creation date or last modifieddate of the document), or based on user input, or a combination thereof.The time/date stamp can be used to determine, or to recommend to theuser, a sequential position of the document within its assigned pane,once the pane is determined.

Next, at step 405 the DIVS 1 determines a tab label for the tab to bedisplayed for the document in the assigned pane, such as tab 24 in FIG.2. The tab label may be determined automatically by the DIVS 1 (e.g.,based on content in the document or metadata such as the filename orpresent date), or by user input, or a combination thereof.

Next, at step 406 the DIVS 1 determines the most appropriate pane(category) for the document and assigns the document to thatcategory/pane. As described above, the pane/category may be determinedautomatically by the DIVS 1 (e.g., based on contents, metadata, context,past user inputs, etc.), or by user input, or a combination thereof.When the first documents are being added to a new file folder, the DIVS1 may prompt the user to specify categories initially, either beforeadding any documents or as part of the process of adding the documents.The DIVS 1 may then learn from the user's initial category selections toenable it to make or recommend subsequent category selections fordocuments.

Next, at step 407 the DIVS 1 determines the appropriate sequentiallocation within the assigned pane for the document, relative to theother documents already assigned to that pane (if any), and assigns thedocument to that location. The sequential location may be determinedautomatically by the DIVS 1 (e.g., based on the time/date stampdetermined step 404, other metadata of the document, such as creationdate or last modified date of the document, user input, or a combinationthereof). In some embodiments or modes of operation, the DIVS 1 may, bydefault, assign the document currently being processed to the top orbottom position in its assigned pane (e.g., if the sequence in the paneis chronological, and depending on whether the user has selected the topor bottom to represent the most recent document position). In someembodiments, the DIVS 1 may display a dialog window with the filename(or other identifier) of the document highlighted in a list of alldocuments assigned to that pane, where the user may drag the filename(or other identifier) of the document up or down to a different positionwithin the list to change the document's position within the panerelative to the other documents.

Finally, at step 408 the DIVS 1 adds the document (in its entirety orrelevant portions of its contents) to its assigned pane in its assignedsequential location. The DIVS 1 also may update an index or table ofcontents of that assigned pane to reflect the newly added document.

Note that in some embodiments, the order of the above-mentioned stepsmay be different from that described above. Further, in someembodiments, some of these steps may be omitted and/or additional stepsnot described here may be performed.

In various embodiments, the user can invoke, through the GUI, variousapplication-level functions of the DIVS 1, such as creating a new filefolder, adding a document to a file folder, deleting a document from afile folder, relocating a document within a pane, assigning a documentto a different category/pane within a file folder, copying a documentwithin a file folder, sending a document in a file folder to a recipient(e.g., as an email attachment), and editing a document within a filefolder.

As noted above, the DIVS 1 can be implemented as a standaloneapplication or as part of an existing DMS or file system. In someembodiments or modes of operation, the user is prompted to input adocument's category, sequence location, tab label, etc., when thedocument is first saved in the computer system in which the DIVS 1 isimplemented, according to the steps described above. Similarly, in someembodiments or modes of operation, at least some of these steps may beperformed automatically by the DIVS 1 when the document is first savedin the computer system in which the DIVS 1 is implemented.

The DIVS 1 can be implemented in a processing system (e.g., aconventional computer, tablet, wearable device, etc.) at least partiallyby programmable circuitry (e.g., one or more processors) executingsoftware stored in one or more memories and/or other storage devices.FIG. 5 illustrates at a high-level an example of a hardware architectureof a processing system in which the DIVS 1 can be implemented.

In the illustrated embodiment, the architecture 50 includes one or moreprocessors 51, one or more memories 52, one or more mass storage devices54, one or more display devices 55, one or more input devices 56, andone or more additional input/output (I/O) devices 57, all coupled toeach other through an interconnect 53. The processor(s) 51 control theoverall operation of the processing system 50 and can be or include, forexample, one or more general-purpose programmable microprocessors,digital signal processors (DSPs), mobile application processors,microcontrollers, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs),programmable logic devices (PLDs), programmable gate arrays (PGAs), orthe like, or a combination of such devices.

Memory 52 can be or include one or more physical storage devices, whichmay be in the form of random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM)(which may be erasable and programmable), flash memory, miniature harddisk drive, or other suitable type of storage device, or a combinationof such devices. Mass storage device (s) 54 can be or include, forexample, one or more hard drives, digital versatile disks (DVDs), flashmemories, or the like. Memory 52 and/or mass storage device(s) 54 canstore (individually or collectively) instructions and data that embodythe DIVS 1 and that configure the processor(s) 51 to execute operationsto implement the techniques described above. The interconnect 53 may beor include one or more conductive traces, buses, point-to-pointconnections, controllers, adapters and/or other conventional connectiondevices.

The display device(s) 55 can be or include, for example, one or moredevices based on liquid crystal display (LCD), light emitting diode(LED) or organic light emitting diode (OLED) display technology. Theinput device(s) 56 can be or include, for example, a mouse, touchpad,trackball, touchscreen, or other known or convenient input device. Theother I/O device(s) 57 can include one or more of, for example: a datacommunication device (e.g., an Ethernet adapter, cable modem, Wi-Fiadapter, cellular transceiver, baseband processor, Bluetooth orBluetooth Low Energy (BLE) transceiver, or the like), audio speakers,keyboard, microphone, camera, etc.

EXAMPLES OF EMBODIMENTS

Certain embodiments of the technology introduced herein are summarizedby the following numbered examples:

1. A computer-implemented method comprising: accessing, by a computersystem, a plurality of stored electronic documents, each of which hasbeen assigned to a category of a plurality of user-specified categories;associating, by the computer system, each of the user-specifiedcategories with a different pane of a plurality of panes to bedisplayed; and generating, by the computer system, a graphical userinterface (GUI) display that concurrently includes the plurality ofpanes, wherein each of the electronic documents is included in acorresponding pane associated with a category to which the document hasbeen assigned, such that the electronic documents within each pane areviewable by a user sequentially in response to user inputs according toa previously determined sequence, and such that visual transitionsbetween the electronic documents assigned to each pane are seamless.

2. The computer-implemented method of example 1, wherein the GUI isgenerated such that the documents within each pane are scrollable by theuser so as to have the appearance collectively of being a singlemulti-page document.

3. The computer-implemented method of example 1 or example 2, furthercomprising: assigning, by the computer system, each of the electronicdocuments to a category of the plurality of user-specified categories;and establishing, for each of the user-specified categories, by thecomputer system, the sequence for the electronic documents in saidcategory.

4. The computer-implemented method of any of examples 1 through 3,wherein two or more electronic documents can be assigned to each of theuser-specified document categories.

5. The computer-implemented method of any of examples 1 through 4,wherein said assigning each of the electronic documents to a category isat least partially in response to user inputs assigning one of thedocuments to one of the categories.

6. The computer-implemented method of any of examples 1 through 5,wherein said assigning each of the electronic documents to a categorycomprises assigning one of the electronic documents to the categorywithout user inputs indicating that said one of the documents should beassigned to the category.

7. The computer-implemented method of any of examples 1 through 6,wherein said assigning each of the electronic documents to a categorycomprises automatically assigning one of the electronic documents to acategory based on metadata of the document.

8. The computer-implemented method of any of examples 1 through 7,wherein said assigning each of the electronic documents to a categorycomprises automatically assigning one of the electronic documents to thecategory based on contents of the document.

9. The computer-implemented method of any of examples 1 through 8,wherein the plurality of document categories are based on types ofcontent in the plurality of documents.

10. The computer-implemented method of any of examples 1 through 9,further comprising: receiving, from a user input device, user inputsthat specify at least one of the plurality of categories, the methodfurther comprising assigning each of the electronic documents to acategory at least partially in response to the user inputs that specifyat least one of the plurality of categories.

11. The computer-implemented method of any of examples 1 through 10,further comprising: assigning a particular document of the plurality ofelectronic documents to at least two categories of the plurality ofcategories; and enabling the particular document to be independently andconcurrently viewable by the user in each pane that corresponds to oneof the at least two categories.

12. The computer-implemented method of any of examples 1 through 11,further comprising: storing the plurality of documents in a singleuser-defined logical data container; and in response to a user commandfor opening the logical container, automatically loading at least someof the plurality of documents into a working memory.

13. The computer-implemented method of any of examples 1 through 12,wherein said generating comprises enabling the user to scrollcontinuously through contents of all of the electronic documentsassigned to any of the panes without requiring the user to individuallyopen or identify the electronic documents assigned to said pane.

14. The computer-implemented method of any of examples 1 through 13,further comprising generating at least one of the panes to include anindex of the electronic documents assigned to that pane.

15. The computer-implemented method of any of examples 1 through 14,wherein said establishing the sequence for the electronic documents ineach category comprises establishing the sequence for the electronicdocuments in one of the categories automatically based on time/datestamps associated with the documents in the category.

16. The computer-implemented method of any of examples 1 through 15,further comprising: assigning, by the computer system, each of theelectronic documents to a category of the plurality of user-specifiedcategories, wherein said assigning includes at least one of: assigning afirst document of the plurality of electronic documents to one of theplurality of categories, based on user inputs assigning the firstdocument to a category; or assigning a second document of the pluralityof electronic documents to one of the plurality of categories withoutuser inputs specifying a category for the second document; andestablishing, for each of the user-specified categories, by the computersystem, the sequence for the electronic documents in said category,wherein said establishing the sequence for the electronic documentscomprises establishing the sequence for the electronic documents in oneof the categories automatically based on time/date stamps associatedwith the documents in the category.

17. The computer-implemented method of any of examples 1 through 16,further comprising: assigning, by the computer system, each of theelectronic documents to a category of the plurality of user-specifiedcategories, including: assigning a first document of the plurality ofelectronic documents to one of the plurality of categories, based onuser inputs assigning the first document to a category; and assigning asecond document of the plurality of electronic documents to one of theplurality of categories without user inputs specifying a category forthe second document; and establishing, for each of the user-specifiedcategories, by the computer system, the sequence for the electronicdocuments in said category, wherein said establishing the sequence forthe electronic documents comprises establishing the sequence for theelectronic documents in one of the categories automatically based ontime/date stamps associated with the documents in the category.

18. A computer system comprising: a processor; and a memory accessibleto the processor and storing a document integration and viewing system(DIVS), the DIVS configured to receive a plurality of electronicdocuments of a plurality of different types and to receive user inputsspecifying a plurality of document categories, the DIVS including: aparser to identify relevant constituent elements of each of theelectronic documents; a document organizer to assign each of theplurality of electronic documents to at least one of a plurality ofpanes of an application window and to determine a sequence for thedocuments assigned to each pane, at least one of the panes havingassigned thereto documents of at least two types of the plurality ofdifferent types; and a graphical user interface (GUI) generator togenerate a GUI including the application window, the application windowincluding the plurality of panes, each of the panes corresponding to adifferent one of the plurality of document categories and capable ofdisplaying content of the electronic documents assigned to thecorresponding document category with seamless visual transitionstherebetween.

19. The computer system of example 18, further comprising an opticalcharacter recognition (OCR) module.

20. A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium storinginstructions, execution of which by a computer system causes thecomputer system to perform steps comprising: accessing, by the computersystem, a plurality of stored electronic documents; assigning, by thecomputer system, each of the electronic documents to an appropriatecategory of a plurality of user-specified document categories, whereintwo or more electronic documents can be assigned to each of theuser-specified document categories; establishing, by the computersystem, a sequence for the electronic documents in each of theuser-specified document categories; and generating, by the computersystem, a graphical user interface for display by a display device to auser, the graphical user interface including an application window thatincludes a plurality of displayable panes, wherein said generatingincludes assigning each of the user-specified document categories to adifferent pane of the plurality of panes and assigning each of theelectronic documents to the pane assigned to the document category towhich the electronic document is assigned; wherein the graphical userinterface is generated such that within each pane, all of the electronicdocuments assigned to the corresponding user-specified document categoryare sequentially viewable according to the determined sequence without auser having to open or select individually said documents assigned tothe corresponding user-specified document category.

21. A system comprising: means for accessing a plurality of storedelectronic documents, each of which has been assigned to a category of aplurality of user-specified categories; means for associating each ofthe user-specified categories with a different pane of a plurality ofpanes to be displayed; and means for generating a graphical userinterface (GUI) display that concurrently includes the plurality ofpanes, wherein each of the electronic documents is included in acorresponding pane associated with a category to which the document hasbeen assigned, such that the electronic documents within each pane areviewable by a user sequentially in response to user inputs according toa previously determined sequence, and such that visual transitionsbetween the electronic documents assigned to each pane are seamless.

Any or all of the features and functions described above can be combinedwith each other, except to the extent it may be otherwise stated aboveor to the extent that any such embodiments may be incompatible by virtueof their function or structure, as will be apparent to persons ofordinary skill in the art. Unless contrary to physical possibility, itis envisioned that (I) the methods/steps described herein may beperformed in any sequence and/or in any combination, and that (ii) thecomponents of respective embodiments may be combined in any manner.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method comprising:accessing, by a computer system, a plurality of stored electronicdocuments, each of which has been assigned to a category of a pluralityof user-specified categories; associating, by the computer system, eachof the user-specified categories with a different pane of a plurality ofpanes to be displayed; generating, by the computer system, a graphicaluser interface (GUI) display that concurrently includes the plurality ofpanes, wherein each of the electronic documents is associated with anddisplayable in a corresponding pane associated with a category to whichthe electronic document has been assigned, and wherein each pane of theplurality of panes is permitted to have two or more of the electronicdocuments concurrently associated therewith; and enabling both randomaccess viewing of, and sequential visual scrolling between, theelectronic documents within each pane of the plurality of panes, by auser, in such a manner that for each pane of the plurality of panes, theuser does not have to individually request the electronic documentsassociated with said pane to view contents of the electronic documentsassociated with said pane.
 2. The computer-implemented method of claim1, wherein the GUI is generated such that the documents within each paneare scrollable by the user so as to have the appearance collectively ofbeing a single multi-page document.
 3. The computer-implemented methodof claim 1, further comprising: assigning, by the computer system, eachof the electronic documents to a category of the plurality ofuser-specified categories; and establishing, for each of theuser-specified categories, by the computer system, the sequence for theelectronic documents in said category.
 4. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 3, wherein two or more electronic documents can beassigned to each of the user-specified document categories.
 5. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 3, wherein said assigning each ofthe electronic documents to a category is at least partially in responseto user inputs assigning one of the documents to one of the categories.6. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, wherein said assigningeach of the electronic documents to a category comprises assigning oneof the electronic documents to the category without user inputsindicating that said one of the documents should be assigned to thecategory.
 7. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, wherein saidassigning each of the electronic documents to a category comprisesautomatically assigning one of the electronic documents to a categorybased on metadata of the document.
 8. The computer-implemented method ofclaim 6, wherein said assigning each of the electronic documents to acategory comprises automatically assigning one of the electronicdocuments to the category based on contents of the document.
 9. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the plurality ofdocument categories are based on types of content in the plurality ofdocuments.
 10. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, furthercomprising: receiving, from a user input device, user inputs thatspecify at least one of the plurality of categories, the method furthercomprising assigning each of the electronic documents to a category atleast partially in response to the user inputs that specify at least oneof the plurality of categories.
 11. The computer-implemented method ofclaim 1, further comprising: assigning a particular document of theplurality of electronic documents to at least two categories of theplurality of categories; and enabling the particular document to beindependently and concurrently viewable by the user in each pane thatcorresponds to one of the at least two categories.
 12. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising: storing theplurality of documents in a single user-defined logical data container;and in response to a user command for opening the logical container,automatically loading at least some of the plurality of documents into aworking memory.
 13. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, whereinsaid generating comprises enabling the user to scroll continuouslythrough contents of all of the electronic documents assigned to any ofthe panes without requiring the user to individually open or identifythe electronic documents assigned to said pane.
 14. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising: generatingat least one of the panes to include an index of the electronicdocuments assigned to that pane.
 15. The computer-implemented method ofclaim 1, wherein said establishing the sequence for the electronicdocuments in each category comprises establishing the sequence for theelectronic documents in one of the categories automatically based ontime/date stamps associated with the documents in the category.
 16. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising: assigning,by the computer system, each of the electronic documents to a categoryof the plurality of user-specified categories, wherein said assigningincludes at least one of: assigning a first document of the plurality ofelectronic documents to one of the plurality of categories, based onuser inputs assigning the first document to a category; or assigning asecond document of the plurality of electronic documents to one of theplurality of categories without user inputs specifying a category forthe second document; and establishing, for each of the user-specifiedcategories, by the computer system, the sequence for the electronicdocuments in said category, wherein said establishing the sequence forthe electronic documents comprises establishing the sequence for theelectronic documents in one of the categories automatically based ontime/date stamps associated with the documents in the category.
 17. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 16, further comprising: assigning,by the computer system, each of the electronic documents to a categoryof the plurality of user-specified categories, including: assigning afirst document of the plurality of electronic documents to one of theplurality of categories, based on user inputs assigning the firstdocument to a category; and assigning a second document of the pluralityof electronic documents to one of the plurality of categories withoutuser inputs specifying a category for the second document; andestablishing, for each of the user-specified categories, by the computersystem, the sequence for the electronic documents in said category,wherein said establishing the sequence for the electronic documentscomprises establishing the sequence for the electronic documents in oneof the categories automatically based on time/date stamps associatedwith the documents in the category.
 18. A computer system comprising: aprocessor; and a memory accessible to the processor and storing adocument integration and viewing system (DIVS), the DIVS configured toreceive a plurality of electronic documents of a plurality of differenttypes and to receive user inputs specifying a plurality of documentcategories, the DIVS including: a parser to identify relevantconstituent elements of each of the electronic documents; a documentorganizer to assign each of the plurality of electronic documents to atleast one of a plurality of panes of an application window and todetermine a sequence for the documents assigned to each pane, at leastone of the panes having assigned thereto documents of at least two typesof the plurality of different types; and a graphical user interface(GUI) generator to generate a GUI including the application window, theapplication window including the plurality of panes, each of the panescorresponding to a different one of the plurality of document categoriesand capable of displaying content of the electronic documents assignedto the corresponding document category in a manner that enables bothrandom access viewing of, and sequential visual scrolling between, theelectronic documents within each pane of the plurality of panes, by auser, and such that for each pane of the plurality of panes, the userdoes not have to individually request electronic documents associatedwith said pane to view contents of the electronic documents associatedwith said pane.
 19. The computer system of claim 18, further comprisingan optical character recognition (OCR) module.
 20. A non-transitorymachine-readable storage medium storing instructions, execution of whichby a computer system causes the computer system to perform stepscomprising: accessing, by the computer system, a plurality of storedelectronic documents; assigning, by the computer system, each of theelectronic documents to a category of a plurality of user-specifieddocument categories, wherein two or more electronic documents can beassigned to each of the user-specified document categories;establishing, by the computer system, a sequence for the electronicdocuments in each of the user-specified document categories; andgenerating, by the computer system, a graphical user interface fordisplay by a display device to a user, the graphical user interfaceincluding an application window that includes a plurality of displayablepanes, wherein said generating includes assigning each of theuser-specified document categories to a different pane of the pluralityof panes and assigning each of the electronic documents to the pane orpanes assigned to the document category or categories, respectively, towhich the electronic document is assigned, wherein the graphical userinterface is generated such that within each pane, contents of all ofthe electronic documents assigned to the corresponding user-specifieddocument category can be viewed by a user by random access orsequentially according to the determined sequence, and wherein theelectronic documents associated with each pane are viewable in said panesequentially without the user having to open or select individually saiddocuments assigned to the corresponding user-specified documentcategory.